


Fire Meet Gasoline

by acrocera



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Action & Romance, Alternate Universe - FTL, Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Dark One Emma Swan, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Minor Violence, Some Language and Adult Situations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-14
Updated: 2016-02-14
Packaged: 2018-05-17 09:11:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5863234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acrocera/pseuds/acrocera
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Emma Swan finds herself in the custody of the High Queen after a run in with a gold-skinned Imp and unique dagger. She thinks its probably the worse situation of her life.  Little does she know, it's only the beginning.  Evil Queen meets Dark Swan in a FTL AU.</p><p>Based on a gorgeous piece of art by swantomyqueen!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [swantomyqueen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/swantomyqueen/gifts).



> Many thanks to my cheerleader, Gemilh!

"Wha'll it be, darlin'?"  The barkeep's eyes roamed over Emma's form.  She could see more gaps than teeth as he breathed from his mouth. 

 

Emma bit back a scathing retort and smiled.  "A hearty stew and a flagon of ale, if you please, sir." 

 

"Tha'll be three coppers, luv." 

 

"And how much for a room?"

 

"Rooms are a silver a night, comes with dinner and breakfast but there's a separate charge of five coppers to stable your animal."

 

Emma eyes grew wide as she huffed in indignation.  "You want _five_ coppers to stable a horse?  That's ridiculous!"

 

"Well, ya can't very well leave the beast tied up all night.  'Sides, it's gettin' colder.  That horse of yours isn't Northern stock and he'll be needin' extra grain and bedding if he's to get through the night comfortably." 

 

Emma's eyes darted to the window that overlooked the yard where her trusty gelding was tied outside.  It was true enough, he wasn't bred for Northern winters.  His light frame and sleek coat revealed his desert heritage.  The breed was strong, and he would grow a winter coat soon enough, but it wouldn't do to make him brave the cold.  They usually didn't come this far north at all, let alone during the colder months.

 

Gritting her teeth, Emma retrieved one silver and five coppers from her belt pouch. 

 

"That better be some good grain."  she grumbled as she laid the coins on the bar.  She shifted on her stool, trying to find a comfortable position on the worn wood.

 

After a surprisingly satisfying meal, Emma ordered another flagon of ale.  The stuff was darker than what she was accustomed to, nutty and toasted to the taste, but she found it rather pleasant.  The tavern was mostly deserted, only a handful of travelers remained by the hearth, humming along to a bard's tune.

 

"So, tell me, if I continue west along this road, how long until I reach Vasili?"  Emma had warmed to the barkeep, due in no small part to the potency of the ale.  He was likely a filthy letch of a man, but he was as harmless as they came. 

 

"The capitol city's a good three day's ride from here, lass.  And there's a whole lotta nothin' between."  He poured himself some ale and leaned on the bar.  "Best to head southwest.  Once you hit Arneleen you can take Her Majesty's Highway north, straight into Vasili."

 

Emma's brow furrowed.  "But I thought the Eastern Lands were heavily populated..."  She retrieved an old map from her pack and spread it before them on the bar.  "See, there should be several holds between here and Vasili."

 

"Hmmm, that map you've got there is old as time.  I haven't seen some of those names for..."  his eyes clouded over as he trailed off.  "Well, for one, there's no 'Kingsroad', we've got ourselves a Queen, that there's the Highway.  Arneleen is yer best bet."

 

"I've just come from there, actually."  Emma chewed on her lip.  She couldn't very well show her face in that part of the kingdom anytime soon.  The jewels and coin she had lifted from the town's meager treasury were still buried in her pack, and the only fence she knew this far north ran a trading post outside Vasili's eastern gates.  "You're sure there's nothing, no inns or farms, between here and the city?"

 

"Well, come to think of it, there may be somethin'..."  The barkeep narrowed his eyes at the map.  He jabbed his finger at a spot not far from the border where the tavern sat.  "There's a keep about there, about a day's ride.  I remember people used to travel there for... healing?  Or was it to beg a favor of..."  His eyes were clouding over once more, and he struggled to remember.  "I've no idea, but it used to attract a variety of people.  They'd stay here before they went up.  Now all I get is traders."

 

Emma stared at him for a moment, dubious about his strange behavior, but she marked the map anyway with the nub of coal she kept in her pocket.  She eyed it warily.  She wasn't keen to gamble on the barkeep's dodgy memory, but heading straight for Vasili was her only option.  If she was lucky, there would be promising shelter along the way and she'd only need to brave one night without cover.

 

"I'll wake at dawn, thanks for advice."  She drained her ale and made her way upstairs.  The tavern was no palace, but the rooms were warm, dry, and free of vermin.  The straw of her mattress smelled fresh and there was plenty of kindling to keep the hearth alight.

 

As Emma settled under the thick wool blanket, her thoughts roamed to stolen jewels nestled in her pack.  She had stayed in Arneleen for several weeks, did some honest work for a change, and had even made the beginnings of a friendship with a girl who worked at the tavern.  After the bout of trouble she had run into in the southern kingdoms, taking a stab at the straight and narrow seemed like a good idea.  The place was even starting to feel downright homey.  But it was that homey feeling that kicked Emma's survival instinct into high gear.  She had left in the middle of the night, and she nicked the jewels for good measure, to be sure she never went back.  Home wasn't for people like her, she had learned that lesson early in life.

 

She reached to the chain at her neck and slid the pendant forth as she often did when she felt uneasy.  Looking down, she took comfort in the familiarity of the intricate metal work and the sheen of the moonstone at its center.  She thumbed the back, soothed by the feel of the engraved letters.  _SW_.  She had had the necklace for as long as she remembered, always assuming it was a parting gift from her first family, the Swans.

 

Sighing, Emma tucked the pendant against her chest.  She would have to remove it in the morning.  Wearing it into Vasili would be too dangerous.  Until then, however, she would let its cool weight give her solace.

 

* * *

 

Emma's day had proven uneventful.  She had set off, both she and her horse well fed and rested, and greeted the biting northern morning.  She made good time despite the poor condition of the western road, which was badly in need of basic maintenance.  Fallen branches and debris littered the road, covering it completely in some areas.  It was as if it hadn't been used in decades.

 

It wasn't until darkness began to fall that Emma grew antsy.  She should have reached shelter by now, she knew she had arrived in the area she marked on the map.  She left the road behind nearly an hour ago to trudge up an old cobblestone path.  The thickening trees around her blocked what little light remained of the day and her lantern was feeble against the inky darkness.

 

At last, she saw the outline of a great castle.  Urging her horse faster, she cantered to the walls hoping it was not too late to gain entry.  But as she neared, she saw that not only was the gate standing wide open, it was abandoned.  No guards adorned the gate, nor did they walk the parapet above.  No wind rustled through the trees, nor did any birds call or creatures rustle in the fallen leaves.  The keep was as silent as the grave.

 

Emma's skin crawled and her horse nickered, side stepping nervously. 

 

"Shh, boy."  She reached down and stroked his neck, patting him gently.  "It's alright, they've just gone inside for dinner."  The horse huffed as if he didn't believe her, but moved forward at her urging nonetheless.

 

Inside the walls of the keep, it was, if possible, even more silent.  The soft hoof beats of her horse were deadened, as if snow adorned the ground. 

 

"Well, we've come this far..."  Emma whispered as she dismounted and lead her horse through the castle bailey and to the stables at the base of the keep. 

 

The place was utterly abandoned.  No fires glowed in the many windows surrounding the bailey.  The market stalls she passed were abandoned, dried herbs and meats left to harden and rot, weapons and tools were left to rust.  It was as if it was abandoned over night.  If the place had indeed been abandoned suddenly, that would mean some valuable had surely been left behind.  This was too good an opportunity to pass up.  Who knew what riches were ripe for the taking in a hold this size?

 

A chill ran up Emma's spine.  Something was wrong about this place, she could feel it.  Everything in her screamed to take Bug and get as far away as possible. 

 

_But,_ a small but insistent voice in her head popped up, _no one's around.  You're a capable fighter.  Think of the loot!_

Emma took a deep breath and pushed her fear aside.  She could be in and out in a matter of moments if something was amiss.  She trudged onward.

 

The stables, at least, were still standing.  The straw was nearly dust, but it would do for the night.  She settled her horse in for the night, feeding him one of three rations of grain she had stolen from the tavern early in the morning, before she set off toward the keep.

 

The castle had clearly once been the seat of great power.  Her meager lantern light revealed skilled stone and iron work decorating the bailey walls.  The path leading to the doors of the keep was flanked by detailed sculptures of mythical beasts and great warriors.  Their edges were smoothed with time, but there remained a ferocious vitality to the likenesses that made Emma feel as if she was being watched. 

 

As Emma approached the main door to the keep, she extinguished her lantern and returned it to the hook on her pack, strapping it down to avoid clanking as she walked.  She let her eyes adjust to the darkness as she felt around the door for structural weaknesses. 

 

She tugged halfheartedly at the iron ring on the door, expecting the other side to be barred shut.  Much to her surprise, however, the door gave a groan and cracked open. 

 

"Thank the gods, I really didn't feel like scaling a wall."  Emma grunted as she pulled the door wide enough to slip through. 

 

The interior of the keep was richly decorated with furs and tapestries.  Trophies lined the walls that lead to the central staircase ahead.  The heads of creatures Emma couldn't begin to name stared back at her from their places on the walls.  A thick layer of dust covered everything in sight, glittering in the weak moonlight that streamed in from tall windows. Emma crept through the keep, scanning for signs of life and loot.  She climbed the stairs, aiming for the heart of the keep, where its Lord's suites surely resided.

 

On the second floor landing, doors of dark wood and banded iron greeted Emma.  They stood partially open as if inviting her in.  Upon entering, Emma was greeted by a most welcome sight.

 

The finest riches Emma had ever seen populated the large gallery.  The walls were lined with bookshelves, reaching up three more full stories.  Balconies ran the edges of the gallery walls, with ornate carved staircases connecting the levels. 

 

The ground floor was filled with tables and cabinets, glass cases and treasure chests, containing gilded weapons, treasures, and relics of immeasurable value.  Emma's pulse quickened with the possibilities.  Here was her chance at a life she had only dreamed of.  She walked the gallery, eyes hungrily taking inventory of what she had discovered.

 

As she surveyed her surroundings, a glinting light caught her eye.  In the very center of the gallery, on a slightly raised dais, sat a table with a display case of cut glass and red velvet.  Emma approached the case, its position in a place of honor, and its contents surely to be the most prized of all of these positions.

 

Emma looked into the case and felt a twinge of disappointment; whatever it had contained was now gone.  Nevertheless, she opened the glass lid and ran her fingers along the ancient red velvet.  A thrill ran up her spine and she shivered. 

 

"Looking for this, dearie?" 

 

Emma startled at the voice, knocking the display case to the ground and shattering it.  She spun around, drawing the dirk from her hip.

 

A small man stood before her, his face covered in shadow.  She could see his eyes shining in the darkness.

 

"Quite rude of you, to break into a man's home and rifle through his things.  One would think you'd been raised by wolves."  He giggled, high pitched and cruel.  "Well, what do you have to say for yourself?"

 

Emma's heart hammered in her chest and her eyes flicked around the room.  The only door lay on the other side of this man.  She would have to get past him to escape.  Her mind raced with questions. 

 

"Quite rude indeed.  Tsk tsk, dearie.  Now **speak**!"  His voice thundered through keep, reverberating on the walls and rattling the treasures in the gallery.

 

Emma felt herself answering and clamped her mouth shut, she would not give this man any information.  She needed to get out of there.  But the words clawed their way up her throat, demanding release.  Utterly unbidden, Emma's voice answered, betraying her.

 

"I thought no one was here.  I thought everyone was gone."  She clamped her left hand over mouth, eyes wide with fear.

 

"Well clearly.  But why are you here?"

 

Again, the urge to answer tore through her.  "I'm headed for Vasili and I needed a place to stay.  It looked abandoned and ripe for the picking."

 

The little man let out a peal of giggles.  "Just a common thief, how unfortunate for you."  He stepped slowly into the light.  His skin was covered in a scaly, shimmering gold, and his eyes were not human.

 

"Who are you?"  Emma's voice wavered as she gripped her dirk tighter.  "What are you?"

 

The thing in front of her gasped as if affronted.  "What kind of manners are those?  You don't just break into a man's home demanding such things!"  He stalked closer to her, eyes flicking to her dagger.  "Armed as well.  That just won't do."

 

With a flourish of his hand, Emma's dirk flew out of her grasp and clattered to the floor behind the little man.  She could smell him as he drew near, a cloying, sweet smell that turned her stomach. 

 

"I'll be asking the questions."  He grinned, showcasing a mouth full of sharp, foul teeth.  "Who are you?"

 

"None of your damn business."   She grunted through clenched teeth.  He was getting too close for her liking. 

 

He grinned and pressed closer.  "What is your name?"

 

Emma took a step back, bumping into the now empty table.  "Get back.  Stay away from me."  She felt a cold trickle of sweat fall down her spine.  Her heart hammered and she felt her chest tighten in fear.  Whoever this man was, there was something _wrong_ about him. 

 

"Come now, dearie, let's make a deal.  Your name, for your freedom.  That's a pretty good deal, don't you think?"  He reached forward to brush Emma's face, when his doublet gaped open, revealing a glittering silver blade. 

 

Acting purely on instinct, Emma launched herself forward.  She grabbed for the blade with one hand, her deft thief's fingers finding easy purchase, as she shoved him back with the other.

 

"No!"  As he screamed, a furious and unnatural wind whipped around the gallery, pulling books from shelves and tearing pages from their binding.  Emma ran for the door, the jagged blade clutched in her fist her only means of defense. 

 

The doors slammed shut and she was caught in a storm of parchment.  The pages flew closer and closer to her, giving her small nicks and cuts on her hands and face.  She closed her eyes and tried to push through to the door, but before she could get there, strong hands grabbed her by the throat and began to squeeze.

 

"Drop it or you die!" 

 

Emma opened her eyes to the sight of the monster of a man with his scaly hands around her throat.  His skin was darkening to a metallic green.  Pure hatred rolled off of him in waves.  She sputtered and tried to speak.  She swiped at his face with her open hand, but he only squeezed harder.

 

The edges of her vision began to recede into darkness and her lungs began to burn.  Emma could feel her limbs growing heavy.  The sound of the wind and rustling pages was drowned out by a faint ringing.  This was it.  She was going to die.

 

_No._

 

Emma's resolve surged within her.  This thing was not killing her.  She was not dying.  With the last bit of strength she had in her, she slashed at her captor with his own dagger.  The blade, longer than her dirk, sunk into his side, sliding between his ribs.  His grip loosened and Emma's vision became clearer.  She surged forward, lodging the dagger deeper in its master and twisting before yanking it out.

 

Emma fell forward, coughing and spluttering, barely aware of her attacker's strangled cries.  She gasped for breath as tears streamed from her eyes.  When she could stand, she did so on shaky legs.

 

As she stood, her eyes fell to the dagger still clutched in her hand.  It was ornately carved, swirling with decoration.  As if the blade were not unusual enough, it bore a name, visible through the crimson sheen of blood.

 

Rumplestiltskin.

 

"What have you done?!"  A strangled gasp tore from the man's throat. 

 

Before Emma's eye could shift away from the dagger, the letters began to swirl and reform.  What she saw shot icy tendrils through her chest.

 

Emma Swan.

 

Everything in her screamed at Emma to drop the dagger and run, but she couldn't open her hand to do so.  It was as if someone else was controlling her.

 

"I...  I'm so sorry."  She gasped, her gaze darting at the dying man lying prone on the floor before her.  "I just... I'm..."

 

At last, her body seemed to catch up with her brain, and Emma ran.  Dagger firmly in hand, she darted through the gallery and down the steps.  Furious howls followed her as she tore out of the keep.

 

She could hear her horse whinnying with terror in the stables.  She slid in through the stable doors and grabbed her saddle. 

 

Her horse danced in his stall, his eyes wide and his ears back.  He backed away from her, sliding in the ancient straw bedding.

 

Emma tucked the dagger into her belt, unable once more to drop it, and approached him with open palms.

 

"Easy boy, easy Bug, it's just me."  She tried to keep her own breathing under control and convey a sense of calm to her steed.  He snorted, and reared back, cornered and utterly spooked.

 

"Come on, boy, it's okay.  It's just me."  Emma stepped closer, laying a soft hand on his neck.  "That's a good boy."

 

Bug's snorted heavily, he was beginning to sweat and his breath heaved.  Emma was able to get a hand on his halter to steady his head.  She stroked his face, shushing and whispering to him.  When he had calmed a bit, she quickly saddled him.  He continued to dance as she tightened the girth and refused the bit.  "Come on, Bug, we need to get out of here."  Frustrated, Emma stuck her thumb in Bug's mouth and pressed down on the interdental gum behind his front teeth.  His mouth opened immediately and she fed him the bit. 

 

"Stubborn-ass horse."  she grumbled as she jogged him into the courtyard.  She barely had time to mount before Bug was off at a gallop, tearing through the castle bailey and out the front gates.  They shot down the cobblestone path, kicking up a flurry of leaves.  As they approached road, the moonlight became stronger.

 

It took twenty minutes for Emma to calm Bug down into a fast trot, but he refused to stop.  Bug, having been bred for endurance racing, continued for the next several hours.  Finally getting him to walk, they continued west, away from the nightmare they had just lived through. 

 

The scenario played over and over again in Emma's mind.  Multiple times, she reached for the dagger, intent on burying or destroying it, but something stayed her hand.  Some urge to keep it, to protect it, gripped her.  She felt utterly numb.  She shivered in the crisp wind and closed her eyes.  She had never taken a life before.  She wanted to regret it, but found she could not. 

 

_It was you or him.  You had to save yourself._

Emma shook, willing tears to come, but they never did.  She felt hallow.  She leaned over in the saddle and pressed her face to Bug's mane.  She inhaled his warm scent and let the rhythm of his footsteps soothe her. 

 

At some point, many hours later, Emma realized Bug had come to a stop.  She opened her eyes, registering that it was day, and that birds were chirping.  She blinked against the light and glanced at the ground.  Bug was munching on grass along side a well maintained road.  They must be close to Vasili. 

 

She sat up slowly, sure that she would be stiff and sore from leaning over for so many hours, but she felt no pain.  Instead, she heard the sound of drawn steel.

 

Whipping her head around, Emma saw a small contingent of soldiers dressed all in black had surrounded her, their swords drawn.

 

"What are you doing on the Queen's lands?"  The tallest stepped forward, his voice was lightly accented.

 

Emma nudged Bug slightly, bringing his head up.  "I'm sorry, I'm just traveling to Vasili.  I'll be going."

 

"Halt!"  His order rang out and he gripped his sword with both hands, dropping into an aggressive stance.  "You will dismount and come with us.  You have violated the Queen's laws.  No one travels this road to the capitol, everyone knows that."

 

Emma's eyes widened.  "I didn't know.  I'm not from here, I'm sorry.  I'll just go back the way I came."  Fear spiked through her chest as she pictured the desolate castle she had only just escaped.

 

The soldiers pressed in closer to her and her hands tightened on the reins.  "Please, I didn't mean to break any laws, I'm just on the road.  I'll go, I swear."

 

"We cannot jeopardize the safety of our Queen.  No one is to set foot in this forest.  You have broken the law and you will come with us.  Dismount now or we will drag you down by force."

 

Chewing on her lip, Emma's gaze darted around at the soldiers.  Bug sensed her unease and began to shuffle nervously. 

 

"So be it.  Take her!"  The tallest soldier reached her first and grabbed her ankle attempting to tear it from the stirrup.

 

"No!"  Emma went to smack his hand off of her, but instead, a great force exploded from her.  The soldiers to her right flew backwards.  She looked to her left and felt the force again.  It sent four guards crashing into the trees.  One's neck made a sickening crack as his helmet collided with a thick branch.

 

Emma urged Bug forward, intent on making off into the woods, when her vision began to go dark.  She felt her body sag and Bug's movements slow.  She pressed her calves into her horse and tried to fight the groggy feeling overtaking her.  With her eyelids drooping, Emma looked around.  The last thing she saw before losing consciousness was a dark silhouette and a cloud of violet smoke.


	2. Chapter 2

_Wind and sand whipped around Emma's face as she struggled to see through the darkness.  A weak grey light flickered around her like lightning.  There were flashes of faces, a raven-haired woman with kind green eyes, a blond man standing tall and strong, a massive wolf with a knowing gaze.  Whispers floated around her, teasing and barely there._

_"Emma... Emma"_

_Another face was forming slowly, eclipsing the figures before her.  Emma dragged her hands across her eyes to shield them from the cutting sands.  The face was obscured, blurry somehow.  She could tell it was a woman's face, framed by dark hair, but the features shifted and blended.  First the woman smiled, cheeks flushed with delight.  Then the face twisted into a snarl, eyes darkened by charcoal and lips as red as blood.  Before the face came into focus, it was replaced by a man's, grinning madly.  His skin glittered gold and he bared his teeth._

_"Now you've done it, dearie.  How does it feel?"_

_Emma coughed into her elbow, trying in vain to shield herself from the monster's gaze and the sand alike._

_"Where am I?  What is this!?"  Although she shouted, her voice sounded faint, like an echo against the howling wind._

_Maniacal giggles pealed around her.  "Do take care with that dagger, dearie.  It's quite the heirloom, wouldn't you say?"_

 

* * *

 

Emma's eyes flew open as she gasped for breath.  Something was restricting her.  She flailed against it.  Stone walls rose into vaulted ceiling, and the smell of a burning hearth filled the room. 

 

"Calm down, love.  You're quite safe." 

 

She felt hands come to rest on her shoulders as she struggled to sit up.  She looked around, frantically scanning the room.  After a moment, she came to realize her captors were an old woman, a large bed, and thick blankets.  She took a deep breath, pulled the covers down, and sat up.

 

"Where am I?  Where's Bug?"  Emma blinked against the light.

 

"You're in Vasili, of course.  The High Castle to be exact.  And your horse is happy as a clam in the stables, making friend's with the Queen's horses.  Here, have some water."  The old woman was gentle and had a kind face.  She rubbed light circles into Emma's back.  "There, don't you feel better now?"

 

Emma drained the cup and nodded.  She glanced around the room once more.  It was a fine room, to be sure.  Rich tapestries hung on the walls, depicting merry hunt scenes.  The canopy of the bed was hung with silver and white silks and a great black bear skin filled the floor before the hearth.  This was definitely not the dungeons, where Emma was sure she should be.

 

A shock of panic flooded through her.  She had committed crimes, several of them now.  _The dagger_.  Where was the dagger?

 

Emma's hand flew to her hip.  Her belt was gone.  She realized she was only in her tunic.  Her eyes flew to the room's furnishings.  Her clothing was folded neatly on a chair in the corner, but the dagger was nowhere to be seen. 

 

"I presume you're looking for this?" 

 

Another voice floated in through the door.  An elegant woman strode in, confident and unhurried.  She wore a magnificent gown of blue velvet which hugged her figure.  Her dark hair was swept back in an elegant braid, and a delicate gold circlet adorned her head.  She held the dagger gently in both hands in offering.

 

Emma snatched it back, her heart hammering in her chest.  It was bad enough that she was here, half dressed, but for someone to have seen and held the dagger... 

 

"I'm sorry to have worried with you.  I was afraid you would injure yourself; the blade looks quite sharp."  The newcomer gestured at the old woman, who promptly dragged a chair close to the bed.  She sat, arranging herself as if she were sitting on a throne.  "You are dismissed, Johanna."

 

The old woman bowed hurriedly and scurried out of the room.

 

"Um... right.  Thank you."  Emma bit her lip, her eyes darted to where the rest of her clothing lay.  "Sorry to have troubled you.  I'll be on my way then."

 

"Nonsense, you've clearly been through some sort of ordeal.  Relax, dear."  The woman smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes.

 

"Look lady, thanks for the nap and the water, but I've really got to go.  I have to meet someone." 

 

"That is no way to address a Queen." 

 

Emma froze.  Her eye traveled back to the woman, the Queen.  _Stupid Emma..._   She should have realized.  The circlet, the High Castle, the dress. 

 

"Now, I understand there was an incident with my personal guard."

 

"Y-yes Your Highness."

 

"Majesty.  As the High Queen of the realm, and the Sovereign of this kingdom, I am addressed as Your Majesty."

 

Emma's faced reddened.  She knew better.  Although the city-state she called home was ruled by a Regent, she knew how one was supposed to address royalty.

 

"Apologies, Your Majesty."  She gripped the hilt of the dagger and stared at her white knuckles.  "Yes, I did come across a contingent of soldiers... um, guards.  Yes."

 

"Well, not to worry, dear.  They have been dealt with.  You've nothing to fear from them."  The Queen laid a hand over Emma's.

 

"What?"  Emma locked eyes with the Queen, utterly confused.  " 'Dealt with?'  What do you mean?"

 

The Queen's brow rose.  "For assaulting you, dear.  It's my fault, really.  I expect constant vigilance when venture out into the country.  But they do tend to get a bit overprotective."

 

Emma gaped at her.  "Assaulted?"

 

The Queen reached out and brushed a hand across Emma's forehead.  "Are you quite alright?  Don't you remember?"

 

Emma shook her head.  Her face was warm where the Queen had touched her and she was all too aware of the hand that still rested on her own.  She felt her blush deepen.

 

"Of course, you must have taken a blow to the head when you fell from your horse."  Her eyes softened.  "From what I understand, you were traveling on a road that is off limits to civilians.  My guards, perceiving a threat, apprehended you.  Of course, had I been there I would have put a stop to it.  Alas, I was a ways off.  I must say, I'm terribly embarrassed by the entire ordeal."

 

"It's fine.  No harm done."  Emma shifted under the Queen's gaze, uncomfortable with the direct attention.  "I'm sorry I was on your lands, Your Majesty.  I didn't realize... I'm not from around here, and I think my map is really outdated.  I thought the road was okay."

 

The Queen leaned back in her chair waving a dismissive hand in the air and leaving Emma more breathing room.  "Nonsense.  You're a single, road-weary traveler.  My men were overzealous.  I do hope you'll let me make it up to you."

 

"Oh, I couldn't, really.  I'll just get my things and be going." 

 

The Queen laid a gentle hand on Emma's arm.  "Please, I insist.  You were traveling to Vasili anyway, yes?"

 

Emma nodded. 

 

"Wonderful.  You will stay as my honored guest for as long as you are in the city.  I will have my Steward bring you a Royal Token.  It bears my seal and grants the bearer exemplary service throughout the city.  Any tavern or general trader will honor anyone in possession of a Token with complimentary goods and services.  Within reason, of course."

 

"That's really not necessary, Your Majesty." 

 

"I won't hear another word against it."  The Queen's tone brooked no argument.  "Now that that's all settled, what is your name, dear?  I can't very well have an honored guest if I don't know her name."

 

A thrill of fear shot through Emma once again.  She was trapped, at least for the moment.  Though she likely wasn't in imminent danger, she couldn't shake a sense of unease.  The Queen seemed gracious enough, but there was something _off_ about her.  Emma felt as if the woman was hiding something, but she couldn't put her finger on it.  Her normally flawless lie detector was foggy, but she knew something wasn't quite right.  But what choice did she have?  There was no way the Queen could know about what happened the day before.  The best thing for her to do was to continue as if she had nothing to hide and to look for a way out as quickly as possible.

 

"It's-"  Emma hesitated.  She wanted to give a false name, but something in the way the Queen looked at her told her that lying was ill advised.  "It's Emma."

 

"I suspected as much."  The Queen smiled kindly.  "Forgive me, but I had a look at that dagger of yours.  An intriguing piece.  You're Emma Swan, I take it?"

 

Emma's grip finally loosened on the weapon in question.  She turned it slowly so the writing on the blade faced up.  There, in all its glory, was Emma's name, carved into the steel.  Emma could only nod.

 

"May I?"  The Queen's tone was light as reached for the dagger, not waiting for Emma to respond.

 

"Uh, sure, I guess."  Everything in Emma screamed at her to snatch the dagger away, to keep it out of the Queen's hands.  She resisted, knowing she would surely look like a mad woman if she refused the Queen.

 

"Exquisite craftsmanship.  I've never seen anything quite like it."  The Queen's eyes glittered and Emma's lie detector pinged.  "It looks old.  But your name...?"  Her brow creased as she studied the dagger more closely, and then relaxed.  "Of course, you must me named for its original owner.  A grandmother perhaps?  Great-grandmother?"

 

Emma's brain sped through her invented family tree.  If she inherited both the dagger and the name, it would have to come from her father's side to carry the surname.  "Y-yes.  Great-grandmother Emma.  My father always said she was a feisty old woman.  She died long before I was born, but he always said I looked just like her." 

 

The Queen traced Emma's name with her finger, not taking her eyes off the swirling design.  "How lovely.  It really is quite the heirloom."

 

Something niggled at the back of Emma's mind.  But before she could remember, the Queen spoke again.

 

"I've kept you long enough, Emma Swan.  You must be exhausted."  Her eyes found Emma's and bored into them.  "Go ahead and sleep a while."

 

Although Emma was wide awake, her eyes felt suddenly heavy and she dropped off into a deep sleep.

 

* * *

 

Regina strode into her chambers, adrenaline and elation flowing through her veins.  She clutched the Dark One's dagger in her hand delighting in the feel of the rough hilt against her skin.  She waved a hand and the great hearth roared to life.  She spun, laughing in the dancing firelight.

 

"Well you seem to be in a rare mood today, My Queen."  A silky voice floated over from the mirror on the wall.

 

Regina turned toward the ornate mirror and grinned with victorious glee.  "It is a glorious day today, Mirror, for today is the day the Dark One fell into my lap.  Today is the day everything changes."  She brandished the dagger, delighting in the reflection of fire on its blade.

 

"So Rumplestiltskin is dead and his usurper is in the palace.  What do you plan to do with her?"  Regina rolled her eyes at the Mirror's cool tone.

 

"There are infinite possibilities stretched before me, Mirror, don't you see?  With the power of the Dark One harnessed, I can do _anything_.  Snow White is as good as dead."  An old hunger flared in Regina, a hatred that had cooled to a dull smolder was once again a bright blaze.

 

"Of course, My Queen.  But how did you come to posses the dagger?  Did she offer it up so willingly?  Surely she should know better."  The Mirror's tone bordered on jealous.

 

Regina quirked an eyebrow at the face in the mirror.  "I think you overestimate our guest.  Why just this morning, she stumbled onto my lands and found herself surrounded by my guard.  The poor dear was terrified."

 

"What a happy coincidence." 

 

"Hardly.  There was a disturbance at the border of my lands, which you would know if you weren't sulking in the servant's quarters."

 

For the last decade or so, the Mirror had become increasingly restless, no longer content to fixate on Regina.  Her disinterest had finally begun to wear on him.  Although he was cursed to be invisible to all but Regina, he gained a small comfort surrounding himself with the palace staff. 

 

"You're voyeuristic tendencies are getting in the way of your purpose.  But no matter.  The perimeter charm on my lands alerted me to a new presence.  I took a little hunting party out to see who my guest was."

 

"How clever of you, My Queen."

 

Regina sighed, annoyed by the Mirror's indifference.  "She is a fledgling.  When my guard 'happened' upon her to apprehend her, she had no control over her powers.  It was quite simple for me to render her unconscious to bring her here.  It would seem that she is unaware of the power she carries."

 

"Then victory is yours.  Snow White dies today."

 

"For someone who can be virtually everywhere and see everything, you're terribly short-sighted.  Have you learned nothing in all these years?  Vengeance cannot be satisfying if it's too swift.  Besides, Snow White has slipped through my fingers too many times to rush into things.  What I have here, is an opportunity to not only control the Dark One, but to hone her.  This will all be new to her, Mirror.  She will need a mentor to teach her to wield her power."

 

"Of course, Majesty.  Will there be anything else?"  the Mirror grumbled.

 

Regina turned her back on the Mirror and waved a hand in dismissal.  The Mirror had been a useful tool through the years of the Curse, acting as her eyes and ears all over the Kingdom, but his usefulness was nearing an end.  Now that the power of the Dark One was hers to command, he was utterly redundant.

 

Taking a deep breath, Regina allowed her impending victory over Snow White to crash over her.  It had been nearly 25 years since the Dark Curse was cast; 33 years since her campaign against Snow began; 43 years since Snow had destroyed everything.  She allowed the memories of those years to wash over her and fill her with hatred once again. 

 

Over the course of the Curse, Regina had slowly begun to lose steam.  The monotony of life in the Enchanted Forest wore on her.  In the first decade, she had her fun, of course.  Delighting in the roles she had written for her enemies, she toyed with them as a cat would an injured mouse.  But even with the ironies she created, even with the normal duties of ruling a realm and monitoring an economy, the victory felt hollow.  She had begun to mellow, to lose her edge.  She focused less on torturing Snow White and her allies, and more on cultivating and maintaining relations and trade with kingdoms outside the reach of the Curse.  Magic alone was not enough to sustain the realm.

 

Before the trouble in her private lands, Regina had begun to lose what little hope she had left.  Before the Dark One, Regina had let her focus slip.  But now, with the Dark One, with Emma, Regina felt a resurgence. 

 

She would have to be careful, naturally.  This situation was delicate and not to be taken lightly.  It would not be enough to merely control and train the Dark One.  To ensure her victory over Snow White, she would need to secure Emma's loyalty.  She had already had a trusted servant betray her once, and she would not let Snow escape justice again.

 

* * *

 

When Emma awoke again, it was without the fog of confusion she suffered earlier.  Servants had clearly been in the room; a pot of something that smelled delicious hung over the hearth fire.  A glint to her left caught her eye.  On the bedside table rested her dagger, safe and sound.  Relief washed over her.  Last she remembered, it was in the Queen's hands and she had felt inexplicably exposed.  She reached out to touch the dagger, to be sure it was real.  She couldn't explain this need to be near it.

 

Next to the dagger was a large gold coin.  It wasn't a currency Emma had ever seen before.  On both sides of the coin was an unfamiliar crest: what appeared to be a three layered squares, lines interrupted in the center of each side, crowned with flame.  Emma realized this was the Token the Queen promised her.  Perhaps it would come in handy, but Emma knew she would have to be cautious.  There likely weren't many of these floating around Vasili, and she couldn't attract too much attention.

 

"Oh good, you're awake!"  The old woman from earlier bustled into the room carrying soaps and scented oils.  "We've a bath ready for you in the next room if you please, milady."

 

"Oh, um, thank you.  Johanna was it?"  Emma rose slowly from the bed and followed, resisting the urge to bring her dagger with her.  It would be lovely to wash off the grime from the road, and she couldn't be sure she had scrubbed the monster's blood from her hands.  Inspecting her fingernails, she was glad to be getting a bath.

 

"Yes, milady, a sharp memory you have.  Will you be preferring rose, lavender, or apple blossom for your scented oil?" 

 

"It's just Emma, please, I'm no lady."  She shifted nervously, unaccustomed to being doted upon.  "I guess the apple blossom?"

 

"Oh a wonderful choice."  Johanna smiled kindly and poured the scented oil into the hot water of the bath.  "And with you bein' an honored guest of her Majesty's it'll be best if I call you milady.  She likes her formalities, the Queen does.  Best not to go against her wishes."

 

"Mmm."  Emma nodded and rocked on the balls of her feet, waiting for Johanna to leave her to her bath. 

 

"Well, get in before the water cools down, love!"  Johanna bent over and rubbed the soap into a gentle lather.

 

"Oh!  I...  I can bathe alone.  Thank you."  Emma blushed.  She hadn't been bathed by another person since she was a toddler. 

 

"Very well then, I'll leave this here for ya.  I'll be just outside if you need anything."  Johanna smiled at her, eyes crinkling with affection.  "You know, you remind me of someone.  I can't place it, but you do.  Oh listen to me, an old woman blathering on.  I'll leave ya to it, milady."

 

Emma mumbled her thanks and sank into the tub of hot water.  She took her time bathing, savoring the chance to submerge her body.  The soaps and oils were of the finest quality Emma had ever used.

 

After her bath, Emma discovered the wardrobe in the room had been stocked with clean clothing for her.  She was pleased to see only a couple of gowns, as the rest of the wardrobe contained more practical wear.  As her clothes had apparently been taken to be washed, she chose simple black breeches and a light grey tunic.  The clothes were of exceptional make, however simple they appeared.  A pair of supple black leather boots and a matching belt with the Queen's crest stamped into the front were awaiting her as well.  Emma dressed quickly and slipped the dagger into her belt.  At last, she felt a modicum of safety.

 

"I presume you're decent?"  A deep, rich voice filtered in from the hall outside.  The Queen.

 

"Yes, of course, come in, Your Majesty."  Emma quickly smoothed her wet hair and straightened her tunic.  She bowed from the waist as the Queen entered.  "Your Majesty, I must thank you for your kindness and hospitality."  Her eyes flicked up to see the Queen's eyes skating across her body.  "I am undeserving of such generosity.  I assure you I will not remain and burden you."

 

"Sit, please, Lady Swan.  We have much to discuss."  The Queen arranged herself on her chair and folded her hands daintily on the table before her.

 

Emma sat down across from her.  Feeling refreshed, she was finally able to take in the Queen in all her glory, and glory it was.  The Queen's features were delicate and strong at once.  Her olive skin was unblemished aside from a single thin scar on her upper lip.  Her rich brown eyes held a fire and an intelligence that were both intriguing and intimidating.  She was stunning, and Emma was at a loss for words.

 

While Emma floundered, the Queen waited patiently; smiling gently at Emma's obviously nervous state.

 

"I'm no lady, Your Majesty, though you flatter me to think so."  Emma ducked her head, blushing once again.  "I'm simply a traveler far from home."

 

The Queen's smile widened.  "So be it, Emma Swan the traveler.  If we are to be so informal, my name is Regina."

 

"A beautiful name, Your Majesty, though I am unworthy to speak it."  Emma felt a bit of her old bravado rear its head.  She tamped down her baser instincts.  This woman was a Queen for gods' sakes!

 

The Queen laughed, and Emma felt a rush of warmth in her chest.  "If it pleases you, dear.  But I do tire of the constant formality.  As a girl, I always wanted to be just Regina.  But, being Queen comes with its own set of rules that even I am subject to, I suppose."

 

Emma was mesmerized.  The Queen's... Regina's eyes glinted with humor and her smile was infectious.  Emma felt a ring of truth in her statement.

 

"Alright, Regina."  She bit back a shy smile.  "I feel as if I've broken a law, calling the High Queen by her given name."

 

Regina studied Emma's face for a moment, which made her blush deepen once more. 

 

"Johanna!  Dinner!"  Regina called over her shoulder. 

 

"At once, Your Majesty."  Johanna called from the hall.  In a matter of moments, three servants entered carrying wine and plates of fruit, bread, and cheeses.  Johanna served stew from the pot and placed a bowl in front of Regina and Emma in turn.  When they were finished, Regina dismissed the servants and commanded privacy.

 

Emma's stomach growled at the spread before her.  She had never seen such a meal.  The stew was meaty and smelled of rich spices, the bread warm and soft.  Dates, citrus, cherries, and apples sat on a large plate.  Next to the fruits rested a variety of cheeses that Emma couldn't even name.  She looked up to see the Queen regarding her with a raised eyebrow.

 

"Please, enjoy your dinner."  Regina dipped her bread gingerly into the thick stew and took a small bite. 

 

Emma didn't need to be told twice.  She tucked into her meal with gusto, doing her best to appreciate the flavors before she devoured each bite.  The stew gave her mouth a slight burn and made her nose run, but she found it to be utterly delicious.

 

Neither of them spoke as they ate dinner.  Emma was curious as to why the High Queen was dining with her, but was not about do question a good meal.  She wiped her bowl clean with bread and had room to spare for fruits and cheese.

 

After the meal was finished and cleared away, a servant brought a decanter of amber liquid and two small glasses.  Regina served them both and raised her glass in a toast to Emma.

 

Emma drained her glass, enjoying the sweet burn of the finest brandy she had ever tasted.

 

"Now that you've been fed and watered, it's time we discuss an important matter."  Regina broke the silence, a serious tone filling her voice.

 

Emma's stomach dropped and she schooled her face into what she hoped was a neutral expression.  "Okay."

 

"Emma, I think you are an intelligent woman, so I will be blunt."  Regina steepled her fingers and took a deep breath.  "I know you displayed a forceful show of magic when my guards apprehended you."

 

Emma's face lost color.  The memory of men flying backwards, and of one's neck crunching against a tree, echoed through her mind.  "I... I didn't realize.  I don't know what happened.  That's the truth.  I'm sorry."  Emma's heart hammered in her chest and she felt the prickling of tears in her eyes.  This was it.  She had killed a man and she would pay for it.  Never mind the stolen jewels buried deep in her pack, waiting to be fenced.  Never mind the golden-skinned terror that she stabbed.  This was enough to bring Emma's life to a screeching halt. 

 

"Oh my dear, it's not your fault."  Regina reached out and grasped Emma's hand.  Her thumb stroked Emma's knuckles.  "If you will promise discretion, I can give you a wealth of answers, for we have a great deal in common."

 

Emma gaze was on the table, unseeing.  She felt panic bubbling up in her chest, held at bay by Regina's hand on hers once again.  She felt a cool calm radiate from where their hands touched.  She looked into Regina's eyes, searching for a lie and finding none.  She didn't trust the Queen, but what alternative did she have?  She was caught in a murder, a magical murder.  In front of a magistrate, this would be cause for execution.  But Regina...  Emma lifted her index finger and lightly trailed Regina's hand.  Green eyes met brown, searching.

 

"I was scared and... and they were there.  I just wanted to go, but they drew their weapons and came closer.  I just felt something... _push_ from inside of me.  I didn't mean to.  I'd never kill-"  Emma choked on her words.  She had killed.  Twice.  The whole situation began to crash down on her.  All of the emotions she couldn't feel earlier flooded her senses as tears rolled down her cheeks.  She gasped for breath but no air came.  Her chest was tight and her lungs burned.  Her head throbbed and her vision swam.  She was surely dying.

 

"Sssh, Emma.  Emma, you're okay.  It wasn't your fault.  Emma!"  Regina rose from her seat and knelt in front of Emma, one hand gripping Emma's, the other grasping her jaw.  "Look at me."  She turned Emma's head and forced eye contact.  "Emma."

 

Emma's vision slowly returned to her.  Soothing waves came from Regina's hands.  Regina's hands.  They were on her face, stroking the line of her jaw and calming her.  Emma's gaze locked with Regina's.  She saw confusion in the Queen's darting eyes.  She felt vulnerable in a way she hadn't felt since she was a child.  The tears continued to come as her breathing leveled out.

 

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty.  I-"

 

"Sssshh.  Emma..."  Regina had lost all royal baring.  She held Emma's gaze without flinching.  "Tell me what happened."

 

Emma's lip quivered.  "I don't know.  I just wanted to get to Vasili.  I just... I just needed to sell some things.  I never meant to hurt anyone."

 

Regina sighed and stood, pulling Emma along with her.  She led them to the bed and sat, pulling Emma's hands into her lap and gripping them tightly.  "The dagger, Emma.  How did you come to possess the dagger?"

 

Emma froze.  Regina's gaze was direct, her face serious and her brow furrowed.  She tried to pull her hands free, but Regina held fast.  Her eyes darted to the dagger in question.  She knew it was dangerous and should be kept a secret.  But as she looked at Regina once more, her resolve crumbled.  The jig was up, and here was the only potential safety net she had. 

 

"It was an accident.  I still don't understand."  Emma took a shuddering breath.  "I found this castle, it was abandoned.  I thought... I thought I could find something of value there that I could sell here in the capitol.  So I went in.  There was a man.  He-"

 

Regina squeezed her hands.  "Go on."

 

Emma drew another uneasy breath and continued.  "He attacked me.  There was a whirlwind and, he attacked me.  I tried to get away, but I couldn't.  Then I saw the dagger, it was in his belt.  I grabbed it, and I stabbed him."  Emma sobbed both relieved and distraught to tell the tale.  "I stabbed him in the chest.  And the dagger... it was covered with his blood and it was horrible, but there was a name on it."

 

"Rumplestiltskin."  Regina breathed.

 

Emma slammed her eyes shut and nodded.  "I stabbed him and he fell.  And the dagger... it... it changed."

 

"Your name."  Regina whispered. 

 

Emma let out a sob and crumbled, her head resting in her lap.  "I ran.  I didn't know what to do.  I couldn't drop the dagger, something wouldn't let me.  I just ran."

 

"It's over, Emma.  You're safe here.  You're safe with me.  No one can harm you.  _He_ can't harm you if you're with me."

 

"How?!"  Emma sat up slowly.  "I'm broken, Regina.  I'm _wrong._   There's something wrong with me."

 

Regina's eyes were excited and bright, almost predatory.  "No, Emma.  There's nothing wrong with you.  You've just inherited a power that you weren't prepared for.  But it's not your fault."

 

"Inherited?!"

 

"Emma, look."  Regina untangled their hands.  She conjured a small fireball in her right hand, holding it before Emma.  "I have magic too, Emma.  Let me help you."

 

Emma gaped; she couldn't believe what she was seeing.  Magic was a thing of myth and legend.  Magic was something to be feared.  No human had ever wielded it without turning evil.  Only the fairies were immune from its dark seduction, and no one had seen them in ages.

 

"No..."  Emma scooted away from the Queen.  "I can't.  I'm just a commoner.  I'm an orphan.  I grew up in Kagos.  I'm not a bad person, I can't have magic."

 

"It's okay, Emma.  Magic is common here."  Regina reached forward and laid a soothing hand on Emma's knee.  "It's not good or bad, necessarily.  Magic just is."

 

Emma didn't know what to believe.  The common people regarded the legends of magic with suspicion.  She recalled the tale of an Evil Queen who plunged an entire realm into a curse of darkness.  There were tales of magical beings who would change their shape and prey on helpless humans, devouring their flesh.  Tales of curses of eternal sleep, and of hearts being ripped from people's bodies.

 

"Look at me, Emma."  Regina's grip was tight on her knee.  "I know of Rumplestiltskin.  I know what's happened to you, and I can help.  Let me help you."

 

Emma searched the Queen's eyes, looking for a lie.  Regina face was tense, focused.  Her jaw was clenched and vein stood out on her forehead.  Emma found no lie.

 

"Okay."  She closed her eyes and nodded.

 

* * *

 

"A touching display, my Queen." 

 

Regina sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.  "I see you weren't too busy watching the maids undress."

 

"I am always interested in your affairs, Majesty.  I wanted to see this Dark One for myself.  Rather unremarkable, I would say."

 

"Mmm."  Regina was distracted.  She replayed her last visit with Emma Swan over and over in her mind. 

 

"You were almost... tender, My Queen.  An unusual strategy for dealing with a street rat."  the Mirror sneered, unable to hide his jealousy.

 

Regina looked to the Mirror, baring her teeth in a cruel mocking smile.  "I can be many things, or have you forgotten?  The poor vulnerable young Queen, trapped and ignored, desperately needing a brave man to rescue her."  She stalked closer to the Mirror.  "Or the grief-stricken widow, comforting her beloved step daughter, mourning her dearly departed King.  Never forget who I am, what I am capable of."

 

The Mirror lower his eyes in shame.  "Forgive me, Your Majesty.  I would not presume to question your-"

 

"Enough.  Confine yourself to the King's abandoned quarters and do not return until I summon you."

 

The Mirror departed without another word, and Regina collapsed onto the chair at her vanity with a sigh.  She stared at her reflection searching her face for signs of weakness.  She was shaken after her last encounter with Emma.

 

_The Dark One._   She corrected herself.

 

She had reached out, she had touched her, sent calming waves of magic through her without thinking.  The touch was electric.  Regina could feel Em-  the Dark One's magic pulsing within her, calling to her.  But it wasn't all darkness, there was something utterly pure and entirely innocent in the magic she felt.

 

She hadn't expected such a display of emotion from the girl.  She really hadn't expected the twinge she felt in her chest each time Emma broke down.  She hadn't expected to feel the prickling of tears in her eyes when she described killing Rumplestiltskin.

 

_It was all for show.  Emma needed to be convinced you're on her side._   She tried in vain to reassure herself. 

 

Regina dug her fingernails into her palms as hard as she could.  The biting pain centering her. 

 

_You're losing your edge.  You've spent too long away from your path of vengeance.  You've become a complacent bureaucrat.  Weak._

 

She wiped at the tears threatening to spill from her eyes.  She needed to focus, to remember what was at stake.  The Dark One was her last chance at retribution.  The spell binding her, preventing her from harming Snow White was as strong as the day it was cast.  Molding the Dark One to her purposes was the only way forward.  She must learn to control her powers before she could be trusted to eliminate Snow, but until then, Regina must secure her loyalty and her trust.

 

_All about the plan is it?  Surely commanding her with the dagger would suffice?_   The voice in her head sounded almost like her mother's.  _Do not become distracted by a pretty face.  You were always so weak._

Regina glared at her reflection, bolstering her resolve.  She needed to ensure her victory, that was the safest plan.  She would hone the Dark One's magic.  She would craft her into her greatest weapon, nothing more. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some dialogue lifted directly from episode 1X02

"You need to _focus_ , Emma.  Find your rage and channel it."  Regina threw rapid-fire bursts of magic at Emma's barrier.  "If you cannot return an attack while maintaining a shield, you're utterly useless in a fight."

 

They had been training for nearly two weeks.  Emma's progress had been significant.  Her abilities had grown in scope and precision, but they lacked the force Regina was looking for.

 

Emma's demeanor had begun to shift as well.  She was becoming more confident both in her magic and in her interactions with Regina. 

 

"I'm trying Regina,"  she grunted through clenched teeth.  "but it's a little difficult to concentrate with you nagging at me."  Emma's eyes flashed with humor.

 

Regina threw a fireball directly at her head, which Emma deflected with a wave of her hand.  "I wouldn't have to nag you, dear, if you spent half as much effort training as you do fiddling with your hair color."

 

"Hey, the color suits me.  I know you like it." 

 

Regina could feel her cheeks warming.  It was true that Emma's new look was indeed flattering.  In addition to the ever-lightening hair, she had taken to wearing tight fitting, black leathers around the palace.  The shift in appearance matched the shift in her demeanor. 

 

Emma swept her right arm in front of her sending a strong gust of wind and white smoke toward Regina.  It hardly ruffled the Queen's impeccably styled hair.  "You're not as subtle as you think, Your Majesty.  The sleeveless doublet you gave me last week?  If you wanted to see my arms more, you only had to ask."

 

Regina schooled her expression to remain neutral.  "Don't try and change the subject, dear.  Your attacks are weak and your barriers are passable at best.  I know you can feel the fury burning within you.  You can feel it, like fire in your veins, screaming to get out.  Submit to it, Emma.  That is the only way forward, otherwise, you prove you're the waste of ability I suspect you to be."

 

She had been pushing Emma slowly for the past two weeks, encouraging her baser emotions, fostering her anger.  She could sense the growing darkness inside her, warring with the light.  Regina was growing concerned; she had never imagined it would take so much guidance for _the Dark One_ of all people to embrace the darkness.  There was always a goodness, a purity in Emma that fought back, keeping the darkness at bay.  It needed to be tamped down and extinguished. 

 

"Don't make me regret taking you in and sharing my secret."  She continued to lob attacks at Emma, forcing her backwards step by step.  "I forgive your crimes and this is how you repay me?  Laziness and inhibition?  Perhaps I should have sent you away."

 

Emma's eyes flashed and her expression darkened.  She leaned into her barrier and slowly pushed back against Regina's attacks.  "Don't start, Regina."

 

"Start?!"  Regina barked a cruel laugh.  "I've nearly finished with you, dear..  I can help you realize your potential and yet you fail to live up to expectation.  Why would I want a pupil who resists my help?  Tell me, Swan, why would I want you?"

 

She knew she was pushing her buttons.  Emma had shared her abandonment and upbringing after a particularly intense session.  She had spent the first sixteen years of her life in the coastal city-state of Kagos, being tossed from household to household as a fosterling.  While fortunate enough to be spared the orphanage, Emma was at best a tolerated presence to her caretakers.  At worst, she was an annoyance and a disappointment, tossed away to the next merchant or tradesman with a spare bed and a need for free labor.  She had played it off as if it was meaningless, as if she had grown and forgotten the sting of it all.  But Regina could see through her mask to the fragile girl underneath, still aching.

 

Emma's face contorted in rage.  Regina felt a twinge of guilt.

 

"Stop it, Regina."

 

"Prove to me that you're worthy.  Prove that you have value.  Show me you're worth my time."  Regina bared her teeth.  "Show me now, or get out.  I don't have the time to coddle strays."

 

Emma lost her composure and threw her arms in front of her.  A wall of magic hit Regina, slamming her into the stone wall behind her.  Her vision swam for a moment, and when it cleared, Emma was before her, with an arm at her throat.

 

"Watch your tongue, _Your Majesty_."  Emma's voice was soft and full of danger.  Her face was inches from Regina's.  With her free hand, she conjured a fireball and held it close to their faces, close enough that Regina's skin was uncomfortably hot.  Emma's eyes glinted with rage and Regina felt a thrill of fear followed by an ache in the pit of her stomach. 

 

Emma leaned closer, her lips ghosting against the shell of Regina's ear.  "You wouldn't want to provoke me.  You have no idea what I'm capable of."

 

Regina's eyes fluttered shut and she shivered.  Her head tilted to the side, exposing her neck.  She felt her arousal pooling and her pulse sped up.  She was too aware of Emma's body pressed flush against hers, of her lips at her ear and her hot breath tickling her neck.  The arm at her neck pressed harder, which only stoked her lust.

 

Regina took a deep, shuddering breath.  She had to get herself under control.  She opened her eyes and turned toward Emma, their noses nearly touching.  They were both breathing heavily and magic sparked and crackled around them.  Emma's green eyes were fixed on Regina's lips and her brow was furrowed.  Her hair had paled to a bright white and her skin shimmered ever so slightly silver in the firelight. 

 

She was magnificent. 

 

Without a second thought, Regina surged forward and caught Emma's lips in a rough kiss.  Emma responded with vigor, extinguishing her fireball and threading her fingers through Regina's hair. 

 

Regina groaned and ran her hands up Emma's back, feeling her taught muscles through the leather tunic.  Emma nipped at her lower lip and pressed her hips closer.  She released Regina's throat and dragged her nails along the curve of her breast and down her side, snaking to the small of her back and pulling her closer.

 

Emma released her lips and tugged roughly on her hair, exposing Regina's neck once more.  "Is this what you want, Regina?  Is this dark enough for you?"  She grazed her teeth along the line of Regina's neck and bit down once she reached her collar bone.

 

Regina gasped at the sharp pain of Emma's bite.  A soft whimper escaped her lips and her chest heaved.  She was at war with her body and she was losing.  She was ashamed of how badly she wanted Emma.  She'd tried to keep her at arms length, to ignore the hungry looks she received, to not see the taught muscles, the alluring features.  She was the High Queen, she shouldn't be lusting after some commoner like a wanton barmaid.

 

Emma's hands trailed down her arms and grabbed her wrists, gathering them above her head.  "Tell me."

 

Regina's head fell back against the wall.  Emma's pupils were blown wide with desire.  She should say no, she should stop this before it got out of hand.

 

But it was already out of hand, and Emma smelled of apple blossom and fire smoke. 

 

Regina nodded and Emma lips curved into a smile.  "Say it, my Queen."

 

Arousal shot through Regina once more.  "Yes." she breathed. 

 

* * *

 

Emma lay awake, watching the shadows slowly creep and recede across the floor.  She hadn't been able to sleep since the Dark Castle.  Well, with one exception: she had slept for several hours after her first meeting with Regina.  But since then, she found herself awake all night, replaying the events of the last two weeks over and over. 

 

Her mind wandered to events of her childhood.  While thoughts of her upbringing would normally upset Emma, she found herself feeling apathetic.  In fact, she realized she unmoved by virtually... everything. 

 

_This really should bother me._   She sat up slowly, sliding back to lean against the headboard of Regina's bed without disturbing the sleeping Queen.

 

Emma recalled one of her earliest, and most painful, memories. 

 

* * *

 

She was three years old, the only daughter of a journeyman glassblower and his beautiful wife.  Her home was filled with colorful bowls and vases, trinkets and decorations made in her father's shop.  She most enjoyed trips to the beach with her           parents to collect sand for her father's creations.  She would run ahead, tasked with finding the perfect seashell as a gift for her mother.  Life was the taste of fresh cream and berries, the soft scrape of the hairbrush her mother lovingly pulled through her golden curls, the feel of her father's beard when he kissed her forehead, and safety of her parents arms when she was tired or scared.

 

Then one day, everything shattered.  Her mother was crying and her father was shouting.  She remembered her him storming out and slamming the door.  She remembered feeling terrified and confused, clinging to her mother as they cried together.  She remembered her mother feeling different, her stomach protruding when before it was flat.  Emma didn't understand then what pregnancy was; she   wouldn't understand until years later.

 

Her father returned with a man she had never seen before.  His shoulders were broad and he smelled of metal and fire.  Her father said he wasn't her father, and mother wasn't her mother, that she, Emma, would go live with the large man.

           

The last thing Emma saw as she was carried away was her father's arms restraining her mother, keeping her in their house.  The last thing she heard was her mother sobbing her name.

 

* * *

 

 

Rather than nausea and the sting of tears, Emma felt nothing.  At most, Emma pitied the woman who loved her as her own, had mild disdain for the man who threw her away to make room for a child of his blood.  It was as if she was watching another life, the life of a stranger she couldn't be bothered to care for.

 

Emma blinked in the grey predawn light that filtered through the windows of Regina's chamber.  Soon, the birds would fill the air with song and morning would bathe the world in its golden glow. 

 

Regina sighed and rolled onto her back, shrugging the covers off.  Her face was open and unburdened in sleep.  Her dark hair was loose and framed her face, free and curling.  A faint ache thrummed in Emma's chest.  Buried under the indifference was a vague sense of longing.

 

A cool breeze fluttered in through the open windows, causing Regina to frown and shiver in her sleep.  The ache in Emma's chest swelled ever so slightly, peeking through the gloom surrounding her heart.  She scooted down under the blankets once more, pulling them back over Regina's shoulders.  Ever so carefully, she laid her head next to the Queen's, lips brushing dark hair.  She closed her eyes and waited for morning to come.

 

* * *

 

Regina put the finishing touches on her makeup, waving a hand to darken the shadow above her eyes.  Today marked the beginning of a critical point in history; the Curse was nearing its 25th anniversary.  Today, the lesser kings and queens of the realm would convene in an historic summit.  As far as they were concerned, the High Queen had called a Session of the Monarchs to solidify relations between their kingdoms, expand trade agreements, assess military commitments, and reaffirm fealty to their sovereign.  In reality, their presence was to reassure Regina in the strength of the curse.  If the curse could survive its 25th anniversary, then her victory was guaranteed.  The best way to protect the Curse was to keep her enemies close.

 

The memory of her last encounter with Rumplestiltskin filtered into her mind.

           

* * *

 

 

She transformed, growing from a mouse into her dark magnificence, and cracked her neck.  The Imp leaned forward out of the shadows, his inhuman eyes glinted in the torchlight.

 

"To what do I owe the pleasure, dearie?  Come to say a last goodbye before the Curse is cast?"

 

A cruel smile crept across Regina's face.  "Something like that."

 

Rumplestiltskin giggled and pranced closer to the bars that held him.  "Lovely, lovely.  So good to have a visitor; pity that you missed Snow and her lovely new husband."

 

"What...?"  Regina's features contorted in anger.

 

"They paid me a visit as well.  They were very anxious... about you.  And the Curse."

 

Regina sneered and stalked closer.  "What did you tell them?"

 

"The truth!"  He said with a flourish of his hand.  "That nothing can stop the darkness!  That is, except for their unborn child.  You see, no matter how powerful, all curses can be broken!  Their child is the key."

 

"Tell me about this child."

 

Rumple tapped his chin in mocking consideration.  "Oh I couldn't possibly; I'd ruin the surprise.  But I suppose... I could be persuaded.  For a price."

 

Regina bared her teeth.  She would love nothing more than snap his tiny, golden neck.  "Name it."

 

"Under the Curse I want to live in peace and comfort.  I want to retain my... sense of self, if you catch my drift."

 

"Fine."

 

He wagged a finger.  "Tsk tsk, I'm not finished.  Under the Curse, should I come to you for any reason, you must heed my every request.  You must do whatever I say, so long as I say... _please_."

 

Regina searched his eyes, searching for a deeper trap.  If he wanted to keep his Dark Castle, that was one thing.  But to retain his powers, his memory, and to gain the ability to make demands of her?  That was too far.

 

But... she could not risk this child, she could not risk ruining everything and rendering her upcoming sacrifice meaningless.  There had to be a loophole.

 

"I'm waiting, dearie!  Tick tock."

 

A solution formed in Regina's mind.  Rumple could have his peace, his comfort, his powers, and even his "please."  But he would do so in the confines of his Dark Castle, never to step foot out of its doors.  It would be simple enough to block the roads and outlaw access to that part of the kingdom.  She schooled her face into a cool mask and took a deep breath. 

 

"Deal."

 

Rumplestiltskin giggled and danced around in a circle.  "The child, dearie, the child will be their Savior.  By the time she reaches 25, the Savior is destined to destroy the Curse, and the Evil Queen along with it.  That is, if she's allowed to survive."

 

Regina felt as if acid was running through her veins.  She would not allow an  _infant_ to destroy everything she had worked so hard to create, and she would not allow Rumplestiltskin to interfere. 

           

Regina prepared to leave and leveled a final glare at her old teacher.  "Then the child shall not be given the chance to grow into the Savior." 

 

* * *

 

 

Pulling her thoughts back to the present, Regina flattened her palms on surface of her vanity and took a deep breath.  Snow White's child had been disposed of the night she cast the Dark Curse, and the anniversary was a matter of weeks away.  She had seen torn and bloody receiving blanket, destroyed by her black knights' swords.  She remembered the bile that rose in her throat when her men presented the blanket's tattered remains.  The fools were not supposed to actually _kill_ the poor little whelp.  Even in her darkest days, Regina would not have slaughtered an infant.  No, Snow White's child was to remain in the cursed lands, far away from her mother, to stay an infant forever.  The bumbling fools didn't even get a chance to scream before Regina snapped their necks. 

 

_The Savior is no more.  Victory is ensured_.  This mantra did little to dispel the unease gathering in the pit of her stomach.

 

Regina shook herself and turned her thoughts to her victory celebration.  Publically, it was a ball to commemorate her coronation.  Privately, Regina relished the chance to usher in her triumph in the face of her foes.  The glassy-eyed fools would eat, drink, and dance, grateful to their sovereign for such an event, ignorant that they had failed to escape the clutches of the Evil Queen.

 

"My Queen,"  Regina's thoughts were interrupted by the Mirror, his ghostly face swam into the glass before her.  "the last of the lesser royals has arrived at last."

 

"Midas certainly took his time getting here.  Very well, Mirror, you are dismissed."  She checked her reflection once more to ensure her appearance was impeccable. 

 

"Emma Swan."

 

She appeared behind Regina in a puff of grey smoke.  "You called, Your Majesty?"  Emma's lips curled into a smile.  Titles had become something of a game between them, adding fuel to the already raging fire between them.

 

Regina raised an eyebrow.  "Time for that later, Dark Swan.  For now, our guests have arrived, and I would hate to keep them waiting.  You will accompany me to the Session, I expect there is fun to be had."

 

Emma placed her hands on Regina's shoulders and leaned over her chair.  She kissed a line up her Queen's neck, biting lightly as she reached her ear.  "As you wish." 

 

* * *

 

As the days passed, Emma's appearances at court became more frequent.  She accompanied Regina to council meetings and planning sessions, sat at her right hand at meals, and served as her personal guard when they ventured outside the walls of the palace.  Occasionally, Emma explored Vasili on her own, taking in the sights, sounds, and smells of the southern capitol city. 

 

She took to roaming the halls of the palace, soaking in the histories displayed on its many tapestries.  On one leisurely stroll, she wandered into the palace library, a place she had yet to investigate.  It had never struck her interest; what use did she have for moldy old tomes?  This day, however, she felt a pull, a small insistent urge to visit.

 

The library smelled of old books and a thick layer of dust covered most surfaces.  It was clearly not frequented by the residents of the palace. Despite its apparent disuse, light glowed from the sconces along the walls and the great iron chandeliers lit the space.  Emma could hear soft murmuring floating through the stacks of books, though she could not see the source.  Magic thrummed in her veins, a softer magic, lighter than what she was accustomed to.  She closed her eyes and concentrated on the feeling.  It felt as if wisps of silk thread tickled along her arms and down her fingers, urging her closer to... something.

 

Slowly, she picked her way through the library, scanning the titles on the shelves, the pull growing stronger the farther she moved into the room.  Nothing jumped out at her, there were histories of neighboring kingdoms and far off realms, fictions and legends, ancient records of genealogy and of trade, but none of the titles were right.  As she rounded a corner, the white magic coiled within her and promptly disappeared. 

 

Two figures sat close together, staring at the pages of a large picture book. 

 

"Why would the Queen want to cast a curse?"  The younger of the two, a blonde girl of about ten asked her companion.

 

"Because, Princess, she was an evil sorceress who wanted the entire kingdom to suffer as she did."  The woman looked to be a few years older than Emma.  Her black hair was gathered into a modest bun.  A smile lit her delicate features as she leaned over the child.  "But there was still hope, for a savior was destined to vanquish the Evil Queen and rescue the realm from her clutches."

 

"Was he a mighty prince, like my father?"  The girl's eyes were bright and hopeful.

 

" _She_ was a white knight, the daughter of heroes.  Her soul was pure and her heart free of corruption."  The woman tapped a finger on the child's nose, eliciting a giggle.

 

"I want to be a white knight!  Can I be one, Mary Margaret?" 

 

Emma started upon hearing the name.  _Mary Margaret_.  Surely that couldn't be the same Mary Margaret Regina was constantly going on about.  Ever since the Midas retinue had arrived, the Queen had groused about simpering fool by that name.  Emma had pictured the source of Regina's ire to be a dowdy old maid, bumbling her way around the palace, leaving havoc in her wake.  This woman was nothing of the sort.

 

The woman, Mary Margaret wrapped the princess in a hug.  "I think that's a wonderful idea.  Now, we've had enough lessons and stories for the day.  Why don't you go find your mother and grandfather?  I will see you in the morning.  Tomorrow we practice language; your Iberian needs work."

 

The girl nodded and stood, gingerly smoothing her skirts before making her way out of the library.  Emma stayed in shadow, avoiding the child's gaze.

 

When her eyes shifted back to Mary Margaret, the woman was gazing longingly at a picture Emma couldn't quite see.  She stepped closer, compelled to view the image herself. 

 

The figure of a woman with flowing black hair lay in a glass coffin, dressed in a white gown, she looked almost as if she were sleeping.  A handsome blonde knight leaned over her.

 

"Oh my!"

 

Emma's eyes shot to the woman at the table.  She had been careless and stepped too far into the light.

 

"I didn't see you there."  She clutched at her chest and took a deep breath, her fair skin was flushed from the shock.

 

"I...  I'm sorry.  I didn't mean to startle you."  Emma studied the woman's face; her eyes were green and kind.  She couldn't understand what Regina could possibly have against her, other than a general dislike of light and jovial people.

 

"Oh, I lose myself in these stories; I'm a hopeless romantic.  You're Queen Regina's... advisor?  I'm sorry, I don't know your official title.  I'm Mary Margaret, Princess Grace's tutor."  She stood and curtsied, eyes downcast in deference. 

 

Emma had yet to grow accustomed to people _bowing_ at her.  "No please, there's no need for that.  I'm no one important, really.  The Queen likes to keep me on hand, but she has little use for an advisor.  My name is Emma."

 

"Emma..."  Mary Margaret's eyes sparkled for a moment before losing focus.  She blinked and shook her head.  "A pretty name.  It's wonderful to meet you, Emma."

 

"Are you alright?"  Emma's voice was monotone; she didn't _care_ about this woman, but something was off.

 

"Oh, I'm fine really!  I get so silly after I read these stories to Princess Grace.  She's starting to be too old for fairytales, but I indulge her.  She loves to hear stories about brave knights and heroes."  Mary Margaret's face fell.  "That's all she's wanted to read ever since her father died."

 

"I'm sorry, who is this princess, exactly?"  Emma had a hard time keeping all of the lesser monarchs straight.  She knew them best by the level of disdain Regina had for them. 

 

"Oh, King Midas' granddaughter of course.  And King George's, as a matter of fact.  Her mother is Princess Kathryn, George's oldest daughter, and her father was Prince David, the only son of King Midas.  I've been with her since she was born."

 

Emma nodded, not truly interested in the child's parentage.  Her gaze drifted back to the book.  She knew she should be leaving, evening was drawing near and Regina would expect to see her before they dined with the visiting monarchs.   Instead, she sat down next to Mary Margaret and studied the book, gently thumbing through the pages, transfixed by the artwork.

 

"Another fairytale enthusiast?"  Mary Margaret's voice was warm.  Though she was young, barely older than Emma, she had a maternal quality that tugged at Emma. 

 

She felt more of the silky white magic flow through her.  It was as if she had stepped into the sun after spending all day in a cold chamber.  Her brow relaxed and she smiled.

 

"Tell me about this one."  She pointed to an earlier page in the book of tales.

 

Mary Margaret's face lit up and she grinned.  "The Bandit and the Prince; it's my absolute favorite."


	4. Chapter 4

The day of the ball had arrived at last.  The Session of the Monarchs had drawn to a close, and the atmosphere around the palace was bright and hopeful.  Trade agreements were expanded and fealty to the High Crown was reaffirmed.  Prosperity would continue to flourish throughout the realm.

 

With all of the ceremonies and treaty signings, ordering and event planning, Emma felt she had barely spoken Regina over the last fortnight.  While it was true that she spent her nights in the Queen's chambers (they had moved Emma's meager possessions into an adjoining room), they did very little talking, and by the time Regina woke, there was far too much work to be done.

 

This left her free to spend time with Mary Margaret, for whom she felt an increasing degree of endearment.  They worked their way through Mary Margaret's book of fairytales, Emma archly questioning the one-dimensional villains and Mary Margaret swooning over the daring princes.  It had been a long time since she had truly had a friend, and while her new friend was often terribly naive, and sickeningly hopeful, she was kind and warm.  Emma found even her own prickly demeanor softening.  Now, she barely rolled her eyes when Mary Margaret sighed wistfully at the thought of Prince Charming leaning over Snow White to give her True Love's Kiss. 

 

It was perhaps due, in part, to this that Emma found herself contemplating her own relationship, if it could be called that, with Regina.  Their nights together, having always been raw and fueled by lust and a hunger that had yet to be sated, had developed a level of affection and intimacy Emma was unaccustomed to.

 

* * *

 

 

Regina lay on her back, running her fingers through Emma's silver tresses.  Her olive skin was flushed and glistened with sweat from their latest escapade. 

           

Emma was sprawled over top of her, tracing the curve of Regina's exposed breast.

 

"That tickles."  Regina's voice was soft and gravely. 

           

Emma looked up and met heavy-lidded eyes.  A surge of devotion filled her chest.  This was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen:  Regina, drowsy with satisfaction, smiling softly at Emma.  She felt her skin heat, she didn't know how she could ever tire of this. 

 

She felt compelled to verbalize this sentiment, but tamped down the urge.  Instead, she occupied her mouth by peppering Regina's toned stomach with kisses, slowly working her way down to her right hip bone.  She bit down, eliciting a gasp and groan before soothing the bite with her tongue.

 

"What are you doing?"  Regina asked, her voice breathy.  She squirmed as Emma continued down, kissing the soft skin at the junction of her thigh.

 

"Paying tribute to my Queen." 

 

* * *

 

 

Emma shook herself out of the vivid memory of the previous night's activities.  Tonight meant a great deal to Regina, she knew.  The celebration would not only commemorate the anniversary of her coronation as High Queen, but would symbolize her triumph as sovereign and protector of the realm. 

 

Regina had been increasingly nervous as the festivities approached, only unburdened in Emma's presence, only relinquishing control to Emma's skilled hands, only breathing easily in the safety of Emma's arms.

 

Emma put the finishing touches on her outfit for the evening.  She wore a fitted doublet of scaled black leather.  It accentuated her broad shoulders and trim waist.  The collar was high and dramatic, drawing a stark contrast against her pale skin.  She drew her hair back into a tight bun and drew dark lines on the lids of her eyes.  With black breeches, slim black boots, she cut a dramatic figure, indeed.  Regina would be pleased.

 

As Emma made her way to the door of cambers an idea struck her:  All of the monarchs and nobles gathered in Vasili were here to reaffirm fealty to their High Queen.  It would not do for the woman sharing the Queen's bed to not offer a token of her own... esteem. 

 

The dagger was an obvious symbol of Emma's magic and power.  But she wanted to offer something in addition to it; something to represent her heart, the very core of her being.  It would be nothing at all to conjure a heap of the world's rarest gemstones, or to fashion a tribute of the purest gold.  But Regina had enough sycophants plying her with meaningless riches.  No, Emma would give her the most meaningful things she owned.  She would offer up her most prized possessions as a symbol of her devotion. 

 

She conjured a simple box of ebony, the lid inlaid with Regina's silver crest.  Inside the box, she placed the dagger, her name glinting across the blade, and placed her pendant beneath it.

 

* * *

 

"You look magnificent, my Queen."  Emma's voice was soft in Regina's ear. 

 

She turned to see the Dark One, in all her glory.  She was resplendent in black leather.  "Is that dragon hide?  It suits you."

 

"Not half as much as your gown suits you."  Emma's face was passive and controlled in public, as always, but Regina could see a hunger burning in her green eyes.  "The cut is... stirring."

 

"Behave yourself dear, we have a long evening ahead of us.  For now, my subjects eagerly await our arrival."

 

Emma inclined her head and bit back a smile.  "Let's not keep them waiting, then."  She offered Regina her arm, and led her into the great hall.

 

The hours of the ball ticked by with little issue.  The gathered monarchs and nobles ate, drank, and danced themselves silly.  The wealthiest of king's and queen's present gifted Regina with copious riches and lavish creations to garner her favor.  She took it all in stride, nodding a gracious thanks, while she waited for the approach of midnight, when the fate of the realm would be sealed.

 

Fifteen minutes prior to the stroke of midnight, Emma approached Regina's throne.  The dais was at last empty of fawning nobles.  Her brow was drawn and she worried her bottom lip between her teeth.

 

"Does the celebration make you uneasy, dear?" 

 

Emma's face relaxed and she shook her head.  "Not at all, my Queen.  I was simply trying to find the words."

 

"The words?"  She piqued Regina's interest and caused a twist in her stomach.

 

"There's a subject who has failed to swear fealty to the High Queen." 

 

Regina relaxed and smiled.  "Is that so?  Do tell."  Her voice was amused and controlled, but her pulse sped up.

 

"I feel I must correct this grievous error, Your Majesty, and pledge my allegiance to you and to you alone."  She dropped gracefully to one knee bowing her head before Regina.  "As a token of my faith and devotion, I offer my most valued possessions."

 

Regina's heart drummed in her chest.  This was the moment her victory would be sealed.  This moment was the one she had worked for decades to achieve.

 

With a puff of grey smoke, a long, ebony box appeared in Emma's hands.  Regina's crest adorned the lid in silver.  Gently, Regina took the box and opened the lid.  Adrenaline coursed through her veins.  The Dark One's dagger, resting on crushed velvet, was now hers and hers alone.  But below it... below it was something altogether different.

 

A pendant of unmatched craftsmanship.  A shimmering moonstone set in intricate swirls of silver.  Such a piece was one of a kind.  Unforgettable.

 

Regina's vision grayed at the periphery and the fingers holding the box began to tingle.  With a shaky hand she reached for the necklace and turned it over.

 

_**SW** _

 

It felt as if the earth was shifting beneath her feet.

 

"Where did you get this?"  Regina's voice was cold and dangerous.

 

"I don't know.  I've always had it.  Is something wrong.  Did I say something wrong?"  Emma's voice was nearly drowned out by the ringing in her ears.

 

Brown eyes snapped to green as Regina searched for a lie, for an answer, for something.  There was a vague pink shape hovering well behind Emma, swaying ever so slightly, but otherwise unmoving.  Regina focused on it. 

 

Snow White.  Snow.  Fucking.  White.

 

Regina's gaze flicked between Snow and Emma, a horrible conclusion dawning.  The same green eyes.  The same gentle cleft in the same delicate chin. 

 

It was impossible.  It couldn't be.  The infant was dead these 25 years.  She had to be sure.  She had to find someone who would know.

 

The Mirror.

 

* * *

 

"Did I say something wrong?"  Emma's blood was ice in her veins. 

 

Something was definitely wrong.  The tendons in Regina's neck were strained, and the vein on her forehead dangerously apparent.  Her eyes finally found Emma's, and they were filled with a deadly rage.  She kept glancing at something behind her, but Emma was loath to look away from her Queen to see what it was.

 

After another few seconds of silence, Regina was gone in a column of violet smoke.  Emma was aghast; they never performed such visible magic in front of others, let alone an entire hall filled with royals.

 

"How...  What in the name of the gods just happened?!" 

 

Emma stood an whipped around to see Mary Margaret standing several feet from the dais. 

 

"Was that-"  she seemed to choke on her words.  "Was that _magic_?" 

 

Emma didn't have time for this, she had to go to Regina.  She had to understand what was happening.  "Yes, and I have it too.  Don't tell anyone, please, Mary Margaret.  I have to go, I need to find her."

 

Mary Margaret nodded mutely, dumbstruck by what she just saw.

 

Emma blinked out of the great hall, grateful for the boost the Dark powers gave her.  She went directly to Regina's chambers, knowing that was her one refuge in all of the palace.

 

She felt herself pass through a barrier.  It felt like Regina's magic, but it was inconsistent, full of gaps and holes.  Emma had never known her to perform such hasty magic. 

 

She arrived in her room, adjoined to Regina's chamber, but before she could call out for her, she heard the Queen's voice, full of venom. 

 

"You were supposed to be keeping an eye on things!  Tell me at once what happened!  Did she survive?  Is she Emma?!"

 

"M-my, my Queen, please-"  A man's voice quivered with fear.

 

"Don't 'my Queen' me you contemptible weasel.  Spit it out!"  Regina was shouting.

 

"Sn-Snow White and her Charming evacuated the babe just before you arrived.  Prince David wrapped the afterbirth in-in the receiving blanket and shredded it himself.  He left it in the crib for your knights to find.  They wanted to ensure she escaped the Dark Curse."

 

Regina screamed in rage.  Emma heard something large shatter against stone.  Her heart was hammering in her chest.  Snow White. Charming. Dark Curse.  This had to be a cruel joke. 

 

"Where did they take the infant?"

 

"I can't say for cert-"

 

"WHERE?!" 

 

"Southwest, to the coast.  Vrisk, or Rhybill, maybe Kagos I don-"

 

"Kagos."  Regina's voice was low and deadly.  Then she started laughing, full and unhinged.  "Kagos!  And you never saw the need to, oh I don't know, SAY SOMETHING?"

 

Emma felt her knees buckle as the world crashed around her.  There had to be a mistake, there was no way... this couldn't be... Regina wouldn't...

 

"My Queen, please I-"

 

Regina's voice plowed over the man's.  "Did you know the instant Emma arrived?  Did you know who she was right then?  Or was it when she _told me where she grew up_."

 

"I wouldn't presume to eavesdrop on your priv-"

 

"Did you put it together when she was _befriending her insipid mother_?  Did you see her with the necklace, with Snow White's necklace?  The necklace _I_ had commissioned for the brat's sixteenth birthday?"

 

The man sputtered incoherently.

 

"Tell me, did you know that I was _fucking the Savior_?!  Did it amuse you to see me hone her powers into a weapon for my own use?  Did you enjoy the irony and I crafted her into an instrument of death to carry out my final vengeance.   Did it amuse you to see Emma turned into the tool I would use to finally _kill Snow White_?!"

 

Emma's head was spinning.  Regina was the Evil Queen.  Mary Margaret was- Mary Margaret was her mother.  The Curse was real.  And Regina... Regina was using her.  She was using her to slaughter her friend, her mother, her- something.

 

Emma felt as if she had been plunged into frigid water.  Cold radiated from her chest and through her limbs.  Regina who she had given her dagger, her pendant, her heart.

 

"Were you planning on informing me, hmm?  Were you going to tell me at any point?  Or were you just waiting to see how it would play out?"

 

"I hadn't- I didn't-"

 

"You didn't think perhaps I would be interested to know _who was in my bed_?!"

 

In a flash, Emma was in front of Regina.  She slammed her against the hard stone wall with a hand to her throat. 

 

"Emma-"  Regina's eyes were wide with panic, she clawed at the hand pressing harder and harder against her.

 

"Is it true?"  Emma's voice was devoid of emotion.  Her face was expressionless and her skin shimmered like diamond dust.

 

"Your Majesty!" 

 

Emma's eyes shot to the mirror on the wall.  Contained within the glass was a man's head. 

 

He looked positively panicked.  "I just wanted you to myself!  With the Curse cast and the Savior out of the picture, we could finally be together!"

 

Emma felt the faintest burn of jealousy in the pit of her stomach.  She reached out with her free hand and felt for the tendrils of enchantment.  There.  She grasped and pulled.  The Mirror screamed in agony, but Emma continued to pull.  Slowly, his ghostly form oozed through the glass, becoming corporeal inch by inch.  When his toes cleared the glass, Emma twisted her wrist violently.  With a choked shriek, his neck spun and he was dead.

 

Regarding Regina with cool eyes, Emma leaned closer to her, their noses nearly touching.  "I asked you a question."

 

"Yes."  Regina croaked.  "It's all true."

 

Emma frowned and released her.  She flexed her fingers and stared at her shimmering skin.

 

"I was a tool, did you say?  An instrument of death, meant to carry out your vengeance?"  Emma studied her fingernails, there was a trace of blood under the index; she must have bitten into Regina's skin. 

 

"Emma..."  Regina's voice was hoarse.  She coughed and rubbed at her throat, leaning against the wall for support. 

 

The cold in Emma's chest melted and flashed hot.  Her head swam with rage.  She could feel her magic crackling along her skin, itching for release.  "Was that all I was, Regina?!  Something for you to use up and throw away?  Carry out my purpose, and then what?  What was the point, _Your Majesty_?  Scratching an itch?"

 

Regina looked at Emma.  She bit her lip and her eyes swam with tears.  "Yes."  She took a shuddering breath.  "Yes, and then no."

 

Emma's face contorted.  She felt as if she had been slapped.  She closed her eyes and willed her breathing to level out.  When she opened her eyes, her face was impassive once more.

 

"I loved you."  Emma's voice was ice.  She blinked out of the room.


	5. Chapter 5

_"I loved you."_

 

The words echoed through Regina's brain, burning through her consciousness.

 

_Loved._

 

Regina's legs gave way and she slid down the wall, dress and cape tangling against the stone.  She inhaled a shuddering breath, and then another, and choked out a dry sob.  She saw Emma's gift, the ebony box, lying upside down on the floor several feet away.  Rising on unsteady feet, she stumbled over and wrenched it open.  Empty. 

 

The dagger was gone; no surprise, it was the source of her power.  But the pendant was gone as well. 

 

_Loved._

Regina brought a hand to her mouth and sobbed again, tears running down her cheeks.  The pendant was the true gift.  Emma was trusting her with her past.  Emma was trusting her.  She had shattered that trust.  And she had lost her.

 

_You were happy.  You were happy and you couldn't even see it._   A voice that sounded suspiciously like Rumplestiltskin's echoed through Regina's mind.  _You let her share your bed.  You let her worm her way into your heart.  You lost sight of your goals, dearie.  You let yourself get distracted._

No.  Regina clenched her fist.  She had lost sight of her vengeance years ago.  She had lost her edge, her drive, all on her own.  Emma reinvigorated that spark.  Emma brought her back to herself.

 

_What to do, what to do?_   Regina could practically see the Imp prancing and giggling.  _Finish the job, or go after the girl?  Decisions, decisions!_

Regina rubbed at her temple.  In the great hall, there were a great many loyal swords at her disposal.  Even Midas himself would end Snow's miserable existence if she commanded it.  She could still have her victory.  She could still win.

 

Then what?  Snow would be dead, and she'd be, what- happy?  She would continue ruling the realm in solitude, drowning in treaties and trade agreements? 

 

_"I loved you."_

Regina felt like her heart was being torn in half.  She had lost Daniel, her father, her mother, everyone who had ever meant anything to her.  Emma.  Was she willing to let Emma slip away too?

 

* * *

 

 

The first time they slept together, Regina was determined to never make the mistake again.  Not only had they slept together, but Regina allowed her to stay the night.  And Regina _cuddled_ with her.      

           

The Evil Queen did not cuddle.

 

She resolved it would never happen again.  Until it happened again that evening,   and the next night.  She was weak to the lopsided smiles and the toned abs.  She crumbled in the face of snarky verbal sparring and silken hair that smelled of apple blossom.  So every night she brought Emma Swan to her bed, and fell sleep sated and exhausted, curling into her side.

 

Demanding kisses turned passionate.  Scratching an itch turned meaningful.  Attraction turned to infatuation turned to love.

 

And Regina was the last to figure it out.

 

* * *

 

 

Without a second thought, Regina poofed to the great hall, hoping against hope to find Emma there.  The sounds of merriment buffeted her ears.  Her gaze tore around the room, searching for any sign of her.  All she found were oblivious guests, drunk and exuberant, dancing and laughing. 

 

She caught sight of Snow White, present and blissfully unaware of what had just transpired.  She was dancing in circles with Grace, laughing, while Kathryn looked on, eyes full of love for her daughter. 

 

Some Curse. 

 

Regina shook herself.  Emma wasn't here, and she had no idea where she could have gone.  Wracking her brain, Regina poofed herself instead to the tallest watchtower in the palace.  She gazed at the lands around her, not beginning to know where to start.  The seas to the south, the snowy mountains to the north, the burning path of destruction to the east.

 

Regina's eyes widened at the sight.  It was as if a giant had dragged an enormous burning torch directly to the east.  The track had to be 100 feet wide.  Regina squinted into the distance, following the blazing trail as far as she could.  It appeared to stop somewhere in the eastern distance.  Somewhere past the edges of her lands.

 

It hit her like a ton of bricks.  She felt like an idiot for not realizing sooner.  Emma was going back to the Dark Castle, back to where it all began.

 

* * *

 

Regina arrived in a plume of violet into what was once the castle bailey.  Market stalls and structures, guard towers, and stables, were all ablaze.  The air was thick with smoke and ash.  The only part of the keep that remained untouched was the fortress itself. 

 

Poofing into the entrance hall, she could hear the crash of glass and the clang of metal coming from up the grand staircase.  Taking the stairs two at a time, Regina rushed ahead, chasing the hope that she would find Emma.

 

She found Emma indeed, standing amidst a vortex of trophies and weapons, furniture and books.  Her white face was impassive, but her eyes blazed.  She leveled burst after burst of magic at the objects caught in the maelstrom, turning each piece to ash in turn.

 

"Emma!"  She shouted, but her voice was drowned out.  She gathered her magic and pushed a barrier from her with all her might.  The wave crashed through the vortex destroying its pattern and leaving it inert.  Objects and debris rained down, cluttering the floor.

 

"What the hell?!"  In an instant, Emma had blinked in front of her.  Regina could feel her rage radiating off of her.

 

"What are you doing here?!"  Emma's voice was soft but it wavered, betraying her emotion.

 

"I'm not sure."  Regina's throat was dry and her heart hammered in her chest.  "I don't know what to say."

 

Emma barked a cruel laugh.  "How about: 'Sorry for trying to kill you as a baby, Emma.'  'Sorry for destroying your childhood, Emma.'  'Sorry for using you as a tool to kill your own mother, Emma.'  You could start with any of those."

 

Regina felt tears stinging her eyes once more.  She could feel that they were bloodshot and likely puffy.  She clenched her jaw against the urge to cry.  "I'm sorry that you grew up the way you did; that was never my intention.  Truly.  I thought you had been killed."

 

"Convenient for you."

 

Regina grimaced and shook her head.  "You were never supposed to escape the curse, Emma.  You were supposed to remain in the Enchanted Forest, an infant.  Forever."

 

"Why not just kill me, then?"

 

Regina couldn't meet her gaze.  "If you died, the curse would be destroyed anyway.  I needed you alive.  Alive and with everyone else."

 

Emma sucked in a sharp breath and Regina's eyes darted to her.  She grabbed at the edge of her leather jacket and tugged, hands shaking and nostrils flared.  "So they sent me away.  They sent me away when I could have stayed with them."

 

Regina swallowed roughly, her throat still sore.  "I suppose...  I suppose they thought that by saving you, they were saving the rest of the realm.  They're heroes, or at least they fancy themselves heroes.  They care about things like 'the greater good.' " 

 

"But they would have had me.  We would have been together."  Emma spun around, her back to Regina, and aimed a column of fire at the back of the gallery.  She screamed as it ripped across the room, devouring everything in its path. 

 

When she was done, Emma turned around, face schooled to neutrality once more.  She took a deep breath and tilted her head to one side and then another, cracking her neck.

 

"Why make me kill her?"

 

"I can't do it myself."

 

Emma raised an eyebrow.  "Truly?"

 

"Years ago, well before you were born, Snow captured me.  She had me imprisoned and sentenced to death.  But in true Snow White fashion, she couldn't go through with the execution and spared my life.  The first chance I got, I stole her knife and stabbed her with it.  Only to discover that I had been thwarted.  I cannot harm Snow White by magic or force."  Regina spread her hands.  "I need someone else."

 

"Why me?  Why not a guard, a soldier, anyone else?" 

 

Regina shrugged.  "I had to be sure that the Curse would hold.  Rumplestiltskin, who fashioned the curse, told be the Savior would break it by her 25th birthday.  If I could hold on until then, then I could be sure.  But I couldn't risk upsetting the balance by having her killed early.  And I couldn't trust some commoner to do it."

 

"And I just fell into your lap."

 

Regina just nodded.  She felt drained.  While her hatred for Snow White burned as hot as it did the day she cast the curse, it was overshadowed by what she felt for Emma.  "You were the perfect solution.  The Dark One, but raw.  Unaware of the power she held.  Mine to mold."

 

"So it was all bullshit." 

 

Regina's eyes snapped back to Emma.  "Emma..."

 

"A fool assassin and an easy lay."  She let out a harsh laugh before her face contorted, a tear streaking down each cheek.

 

Regina's heart broke all over again.  "Emma, no."  She stepped forward, but Emma retreated.

"I was such an idiot.  I thought..."  She sniffed and wiped at her nose, tears coming more freely.  "I thought you felt the way I did.  When I looked at you I-  You made me believe you wanted me."

 

"Emma I do want you." 

 

Emma seemed to ignore that.  She wiped at her eyes and regained some composure.  "You know, Mary Margaret... _Snow_ and I read through the entire damn book of fairytales.  Did you know there's a book about you, and your Curse, and your... everything?"

 

Regina rubbed her temples.  "The Curse was supposed to treat those events as ancient myth, but no, I didn't know there was a book."

 

"It's a fascinating read.  I learned about all sorts of things.  Stable boys, runaway horses, 16 year old girls being married off to lecherous old kings.  I could see how someone could find themselves feeling... _vengeful_." 

 

Regina grimaced at hearing Emma speak about Daniel and her marriage to Leopold. 

 

"But what I don't see, what I can't understand, Regina, is how you could make someone love you, and then make you kill for them."

 

Regina let out something between a laugh and a sob.  "Well, dear, I seem to have quite the track record.  The Mirror, you remember him, you snapped his neck.  He developed something of an obsession with me.  I used him to dispatch the King."

 

"So I'm the same as that incorporeal stooge?"  Emma's face crumbled again.  "A piece of trash to use up and throw away?"

 

"Never."  Regina shook her head and walked closer to her, reaching for her slowly.  When Emma didn't pull away, Regina gathered her hands in her own.

 

"Look at me, please."  Her voice was barely a whisper.  "Emma, please."

 

Emma looked at her, eyes sparkling with tears. 

 

"You're not the same.  You could never be the same.  You're so, so much more than I could have ever expected."  She brought Emma's hands to her lips and kissed them gently.

 

Emma's bottom lip quivered and she squinted against tears.

 

"I don't expect understanding, and I especially don't expect forgiveness.  I just want you to know that-"  Regina's voice broke with emotion.  She fought to regain enough control to finish. 

 

"I want you to know that I did feel the same.  I do feel-"  She took a deep breath.  "I love you Emma, but I've spent so many years hating, that I don't how to love very well anymore."

 

Emma's control broke and she sobbed openly.  Regina released her hands and reached up to her cheeks, cradling her face.

 

"It doesn't change what has happened.  I can't change what I've done.  But you, you can choose what happens going forward."

 

Emma's gaze was weary.  She found Regina's wrists with her hands and squeezed, not pulling away, just holding on.  "What do you mean?"

 

"If you want to break the Curse, you can." 

 

"How?"

 

Regina swallowed.  "By ending my life."

 

Emma sobbed and shook her head, she leaned forward, pressing her face into Regina's hair. 

 

Regina's heart swelled; at least Emma didn't want to kill her.

 

"Then anything you want, Emma.  Anything you want, and it's yours.  The kingdom, the realm, the continent.  My banishment.  Anything."  She closed her eyes tight, warring with herself.  "I will never touch Snow White.  I will restore her memories, if you want.  I can make you a family again."

 

Emma pulled back, her face open with shock.  "But your vendetta.  All of your work?"

 

"Honestly, it doesn't matter as much as-  It doesn't matter anymore."  Regina opened her eyes.  She felt resigned.

 

"As much as what?"  Emma's eyes darted between Regina's. 

 

"As much as you."

 

Emma leaned down and crushed her lips against Regina's.  Their kisses were hungry as tears streaked down their faces.  Emma pulled Regina against her, hands gripping hard around her waist.

 

Their kissed slowed and the broke apart, heads resting together.

 

"This doesn't mean you're forgiven."  Emma whispered.

 

"What does it mean?"  Regina was terrified to hear the answer.

 

Emma shrugged.  "Honestly, I don't know yet.  I don't know if I want you to restore her memory, I don't know if I want to be her daughter."

 

"Okay."

 

"I only know that I love you.  And I fucking hate you.  But I love you more than I hate you.  And I don't think I tear myself away from you."

 

Regina knew she didn't deserve Emma's love.  But she wasn't going to push her away.  "I love you, Emma." 

 

Emma smiled softly and kissed Regina's forehead.  "I also know that I can't stand this place.  I want to burn it to the ground."

 

Regina looked around at the mess Emma had created.  Books and furniture still smoldered with Emma's last burst of fire.  "I think that can be arranged."

 

* * *

 

Together, Emma and Regina set the fortress ablaze.  They walked down the stairs and out into the castle bailey, torching everything they passed and reinvigorating the fires Emma had set earlier.  By the time they reached the front gates, the entirety of the Dark One's castle was awash in flame.  Emma raised a barrier encircling the castle walls to prevent the flames from reaching the forest.

 

"Well executed."  Regina's tone had returned to almost normal.  Ash from the fire began to drift down on them, catching in Regina's hair and eyelashes.  She gave a regal toss of her head in a vain effort to dislodge the ash. 

 

Emma quirked an eyebrow and cracked a small smile, which grew into a grin.  In moments, both women were laughing, the strain of the day escaping anyway it could.

 

Emma reached for Regina's hand with her left, and conjured a black umbrella with her right.  She handed it to Regina with a roll of her eyes.   

  
They walked away from the blaze hand in hand, unsure of what difficulties tomorrow would bring, knowing only that they would face them head on, together.


End file.
